Boom and bust on the home front - smh.com.au

The state government (ministers, advisers and sundry flacks), speculative investors, lenders, and voters should really have a good, hard think about this:

Boom and bust on the home front - National - smh.com.au

Of course, the PM is now suddenly worried about the problem of low housing affordability, whereas a few short years ago in a televised radio interview he shrugged, looked bemused, and said, "none of my constituents are complaining that their house values have gone up"... just another typical backflip from the PM...

Home owners find equity a spent force

Tried to warn them:

THE stagnant property market has taken a toll on a favourite Australian pastime: converting bricks and mortar into cash.

The boom in equity withdrawn from housing and used to boost superannuation, bolster share portfolios and buy cars, overseas holidays and plasma televisions has petered out, a report by the Reserve Bank says.

Robert Mellor, of BIS Shrapnel, said Sydney house prices might fall a further 5 per cent this financial year because of higher interest rates, pushing more households into negative equity. However, the strength of the labour market was helping to prevent a surge in forced sales, he said.

Home owners find equity a spent force

Consumer hopes dive as prices weaken pay rises

THE Coalition pinned 10 years of legitimacy on the fact that low and stable interest rates made for comfortable consumers. But mortgage pressure is rising everywhere and consumers have suffered the sharpest loss of confidence in 17 years.

So this week the Coalition dumped the political strategy of reassurance for a claim that it can manage adversity better than Labor.

The housing 'boom' chickens are coming home to roost...

Consumer hopes dive as prices weaken pay rises